At least 15 dead and scores injured after huge gas explosion demolishes buildings

The death toll from a heating gas tank that exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq has risen to 15, an civil defence official said Friday.

Rescue teams were searching through the night in the rubble for survivors in the city of Sulaymaniyah with images showing scenes of destruction and horrified residents looking on.

Three homes were destroyed and also injured 16 people.

On Thursday night, Kurdish officials and local media reports said that an unknown number of people were trapped under the rubble.

Sulaymaniyah’s civil defence has said that 10 teams worked their way through the debris to find survivors.

There are reports that at least seven people have been killed in the disaster (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Many people have taken to social media to express their sadness at what happened and also share photos of some of the victims with it appearing that several children died.

Three residential buildings are believed to have exploded due to a leak from a liquid petrol tank that was on top of one of the buildings in the neighbourhood.

One of the destroyed buildings is believed to have had three-storeys and there are reports that 20 people were inside one of the blocks.

A young girl who was enjoying her birthday party was among the dead, tweeted BasNews English.

Rescue teams are continuing to search through the rubble for survivors (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Prime Minister of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said an investigation would be launched.

He tweeted: "I spoke with the governor of Sulaymaniyah and instructed him to investigate the cause of the tragic incident in Sulaymaniyah tonight and to help the victims, and do whatever is necessary.

"I extend my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured."

Many local people have taken to social media to express their shock at what has happened (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

There are also concerns of any follow up explosions or buildings that may be unsafe.

It comes after more than two dozen people were injured, including the head of Iraq’s civil defence directorate, when a commercial building in Baghdad caught fire and then collapsed on November 6.

The official Iraqi News Agency said the civil defence director, Maj Gen Kadhim Bohan, and some firefighters were were among those injured when the burning building collapsed.

An investigation has been launched to find out what caused the explosion (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Brig Gen Qusai Younis, director of civil defence for the Al-Rusafa district of Baghdad, said that at least 28 people had been injured.

He said two of the three storeys in the building, which contained warehouses storing flammable materials such as perfume, collapsed due to the fire.